Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Entry 3

I found a quote that relates back to what I was saying at the end of the last entry: " Sensitive people they enjoy small talk only after they've gone deep. When sensitive people are in environment that nurture their authenticity, they laugh and chitchat just as much as anyone else." So true. Once I feel comfortable and have something to say it's easy for me to talk and add to the conversation. Later in the book it brought up persistence and how it's a trait of most introverts. Even though being persistent is a good thing I never thought of it as a trait that is key to success. Then I saw a quote by Einstein saying, " It's not that I'm so smart, it's that I stay with problems longer." I started thinking that persistence is the difference between successful and unsuccessful people. That I don't need to be extroverted, but persistent.

I have always felt that people don't understand my quietness. I would always wonder is something wrong with me? Am I just weird? This college student, named Mike, was interviewed in the book and had many of the same feelings as me. After going to a dinner party with some of his other class mates and his professor he was teased about not saying much. He ended up feeling bad about himself he saying, " People who don't talk are seen as weak or lacking." Like many moments while reading this book,  a light bulb went off in my head. I had been thinking this way for a while. All the class discussions and class participation had always made me feel weak or lacking because talking was rewarded and I had never been much of a talker. For years it had seemed like being a quiet thinker was a bad thing. All in all, it's about compromise. I now know that someday's I'm going to have to do things that are a little out of my comfort zone, but also have to remember to stay true to myself. And that being introverted and quiet does not mean I'm weak, but that I'm a thinker.